Ratings System

Friday, December 30, 2016

Hillbilly Elegy by
J.D. Vance is a memoir of the author's life as he rose from a broken home to become
an Ivy League law graduate, largely overcoming the obstacles of his childhood and family. Vance argues that many of the struggles
that he and his family faced were commonplace throughout the Rust Belt and
Appalachia, where his family once lived before his grandparents moved to
suburban Cincinnati several decades ago.

This book has risen to prominence in thought leader circles
to help understand the struggles of the white working class in this country. Vance points out that his hurdles, though different in specifics, are not
markedly unlike those of other demographic groups in that much of what
drives the struggles in health and education are also
economically driven. Vance’s own
struggles emulate those of many we know near or within our own extended
families, not just in the Rust Belt or in Appalachia, but in working class
communities throughout the country that have fallen on or have remained
downtrodden for many decades.

Given the vitriolic nature of the election, Hillbilly Elegy provides a refreshing
and real take on what many are struggling with in this country; there
is a large segment of the population that is frustrated at being left behind in
a more globalized world. While Vance does not argue for any specifics in fixing
those problems, he does call upon the working class of this country to not
blame Washington alone. More important, he argues that success starts with
ensuring we take care of young children and making sure we provide opportunities
for them, their mothers, and for their extended families -- to ensure that
homes don’t fall apart completely and that families, even if they are markedly
extended, somehow stay together for the sake of the next generation.